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On Thursday October 22, the National Roundtable against Metallic Mining-MNFM and representatives of various communities and social organizations gathered outside the offices of the World Bank in San Salvador to express their firm opposition to metallic mining projects and to send a message to the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, ICSID which is part of the World Bank and where el Salvador is being sued for $301 million for not granting a mining licence. The law suit was launched by Pacific Rim, now OceanaGold, in 2009. In October 2014, the final arguments were heard by the panel but to date the final decision is unknown.

Amianan Salakniban, the broadest network of environmental organizations and advocates in North Luzon, Philippines, expresses their support for El Salvador’s Day of Action against OceanaGold last October 22.

“The victory of the people of El Salvador to protect their water and their environment against a mining giant should be defended vigorously. We are one with the Salvadorans in this plight as our indigenous people in Nueva Vizcaya also suffer from the wrath of OceanaGold,” said Fernando Mangili, spokesperson of Amianan Salakniban.

Communities and organizations gathered in front of the World Bank in San Salvador to demand a fair verdict on the lawsuit of Pacific Rim vs El Salvador.

After days of uninterrupted rain, on Thursday October 22nd the sun came back to shine on hundreds of community members and organizations as they gathered for a protest in front of the World Trade Center in the elite Colonia Escalòn of San Salvador, where the office of the World Bank are located.

The protest was organized by La Mesa Nacional Frente a la Minería Metálica de El Salvador, an umbrella organization that groups different associations, NGOs, religious and academic groups with the common objective of achieving the prohibition of metallic mining in El Salvador.

A diplomatic document shows that Pacific Rim lied to the tribunal about the time in which it decided to initiate the lawsuit against El Salvador before the World Bank. The ICSID tribunal could re-open the case, after having already taken an interim decision

An official US government document, sent by the then American Ambassador in El Salvador Charles Glazer, and referred to the Department of State in December 2007, constitutes new evidence for the defense of the Republic, which is in conflict with Pacific Rim mining company before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, ICSID. The defense wants the tribunal of the World Bank to re-consider the interim verdict that it reached in June 2012.

People of different communities in the San Isidro municipality, region of Cabañas, manifested their opposition to a metal mining project in the territory.

The inhabitants maintain that the proyect would contaminate the water resources of the area, and consequently aggravate the already existing problem of access to clean drinking water and other necessities. Additionally, locals explain that one of the main water resources that would affected by the contamination is the Titihuapa River, a tributary of the Lempa River. According to information provided by the inhabitants of San Isidro, the project site would stretch over a land portion of 48 square kilometres, land currently being explored, and would amount to over a third of the region of Cabañas total surface.